


You're a Good Teacher

by MorganaMagics



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, supportive family, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28390002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaMagics/pseuds/MorganaMagics
Summary: Douxie trains Claire in wizardry.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	You're a Good Teacher

Douxie had felt homesick for Arcadia not long after moving. The people, food, events; they made that place feel like home. New York was becoming home too, slowly but surely. Sure, things were tough at first. With an extra mouth to feed, he needed a whopping three jobs instead of one or two. After spending his mornings as a waiter and dishwasher, he was taking the bus to Broadway to work his late night jobs as a ticket taker and usher. His apartment was definitely the worst he’s had with its mice in the walls, leaking ceiling, and an old gas stove that’s pilot light rarely stayed lit. 

Despite the ugly, New York wasn’t all that bad at the end of the day. Tiring, yes but it had its good points too. Nari at least could convince the mice to stay away from their food. Douxie was also meeting new people through work and the open-mic cafe he and Narti visited whenever a good paycheck came Douxie’s way. Things were getting easier but Douxie would be lying if he didn’t feel a wave of relief when he found out Jim and Claire were coming to visit. 

“I thought it’d be good we all took a break and hung out,” Claire had said over the phone. “And...I thought maybe you might teach me some magic?”

That’s why instead of sitting in his favorite cafe just down the block listening to some new up-and-coming band, Douxie was at his and Nari’s apartment, perched on the couch as Claire followed his instructions. 

She was standing in the center of the living room, eyes closed and hands stretched out in front of her. Douxie carefully nudged her left hand down a fraction with his staff, smiling once she was in the proper stance. It was important to have good footing. A wizard or witch could be the best at spells and have loads of control but if they didn’t have a proper stance, they would get knocked off their feet in an instant.

“I feel the difference,” Claire said, determination curling her lips up towards the apartment’s cracked ceiling. 

“Good.”

Douxie got off the couch, Archie following him. Together, they circled Claire, Douxie standing still at her right while Archie stood on her left. He held out his own hands, mirroring Claire’s stance. His movements sent a slight gust of air up to tickle Claire’s cheeks and her eyes cracked open. She met Douxie’s gaze before looking at his hands. Douxie moved one up above his head and flicked his wrist, a small ball of blue light appearing in his palm. Claire mimicked the action and the others that quickly followed. 

To anyone else, it would look like they were dancing. Footwork had eventually joined the hand movements and soon, they were creating glowing circles of light around them, burning hot sigils that filled Douxie with adrenaline. At last, he threw both his hands out to the sides, the magic that was curling around him flying outward and hitting the targets taped to the couch cushions. Claire did the same, wincing when one of her hits missed and sent a picture frame toppling off the wall. Archie caught it easily enough, giving it to Douxie to hang back up.

Douxie brushed a careful finger over the photo, lingering for a moment on the frozen expression on Merlin’s face as he grudgingly posed for a picture with Douxie. They had taken the photo shortly after reuniting, Zoe being the one manning the camera. Douxie could see her unhappy glare at Merlin when he had first refused to be part of the photo. Douxie needed to thank her for that. He didn’t have much left of Merlin anymore. Just his memories, staff, and the photo in his hands. 

Claire’s eyes softened as she peaked at the picture and she reached out, hand hovering over Douxie’s shoulder. 

“Sorry.”

“No harm done.”

Douxie put the frame back, taking a moment to make sure it wasn’t crooked. He waved at the couch then, taking a seat next to Claire and shoving the destroyed targets to the floor. 

“You did really well, Claire. You’re amazing! Your power...you’ve really made it your own.”

Claire beamed at the compliment for a short second before quickly deflating. She looked down at her shoes, sighing and shaking her head. 

“It’s not enough. I couldn’t hit the target.”

Douxie laughed and patted himself in the center of his chest. 

“Believe me when I say you did far better than I did when Merlin had me do these.” Douxie leaned in close, cupping a hand over his mouth as he whispered, “I once broke an extremely rare Artherian vase with the cursed soul of a water nymph inside.”

That earned him a laugh from the young witch. Her eyes lit up again, momentarily forgetting her previous failure. She stood up then, taking up the center of the living room as she tried the spell one more time, her movements much more relaxed despite the slight tension in the lines between her brows. 

Douxie knew what she was feeling. He had felt it for centuries and even felt it now. He practiced magic whenever he could, trying to get better so that he could protect Nari when that time came. He was scared of tasting failure again, or losing someone he cared about. He and Claire were the same in that respect. 

“You’re a good teacher,” Claire said as she threw out her arms and sent a shockwave of magic at the fallen targets on the floor. She hit all of this time, nearly hitting the center on all of them. 

Douxie rubbed the back of his neck, thanking her with a small lift to the right corner of his mouth. He wished she could have had the chance to train beside Merlin. As rude as he could be, he did have his moments when it came to teaching his apprentices. He preferred leaving a breadcrumb trail for Douxie and Morgana to follow, wanting them to challenge their minds and powers to find the answers. It was taxing and left Douxie wanting to bang his head against the wall most nights but at the end of the day, it had shaped him to be the wizard he was today. 

The door creaked open, Jim and Narti coming in with their arms full of groceries. Jim had insisted on making Douxie and Narti a homemade meal after seeing the mess of take-out and pizza boxes littering the kitchen and overflowing the trash can. 

“How’s magic training going?” Jim asked as he carried the groceries into the kitchen.

“Great!” Claire answered and her smile grew as Douxie gave her a light pat on the head. 


End file.
